Rockin’ Rods

“It was quite a crowd,” he said. “We got a lot of people in town for the Dream Cruise.”

The event was held Sunday, Aug. 10 in downtown Rochester.

Clausen said the owner of a 1967 Corvette brought the classic from Englewood, Florida.

The event serves as a warmup for this weekend’s internationally known Woodward Dream Cruise.

Clausen serves as the chairman for Rockin’ Rods as well as the Lions’ two other car shows Memorial Day weekend.

Long before the Woodward Dream Cruise, a group of car enthusiasts in the Rochester area began meeting every weekend to discuss their passion.

The Breakfast Club, as the group came to be known, has evolved over the years, much like the signature event for Detroit-area car fanatics. The group was very small in its infancy, but has grown to more than 100 members. They now meet at the Rochester Hills Ram’s Horn location each Saturday morning, year-round.

Connecticut native Bill Clausen, 70, owned a hot rod in high school and later found an outlet for his auto fixation when he moved to Rochester Hills. Now, he’s out cruising every night and sharing with the group every Saturday.

“It’s a bunch of old guys lying about how fast they go,” he joked.

Advertisement

The group features painters, engine builders and more, Clausen said.

“It’s a great network,” he said. “It’s an ideal situation for guys who do their own work.

“Everybody is welcome.”

Hailing from out of state, Clausen has experienced first-hand what many Detroit-area residents take for granted.

“You won’t find anything like (Michigan’s car culture) around the country,” he said. “There is never a time you can’t find something to do with your car.

“Until I moved here, I was too busy with family and didn’t have enough money. It was something I always wanted to do.”

“People come from all walks of life,” he said. “Nobody knows who’s who ... we’re all car guys.”

Reynolds, also from Rochester Hills, is a former General Motors executive, retired in 2000. He will be taking three Chevrolets to the cruise this weekend, some of which are nearly as old as the Breakfast Club.

Like the Dream Cruise, the group has evolved.

Ram’s Horn is home

Breakfast Club Rods and Customs formed in 1976 and has grown to triple-digit membership, including international members, according to the Ram’s Horn website. It had much more humble beginnings, however.

“The club showed up right when we opened (in 1987), but it was much smaller in the early days,” Ram’s Horn owner Gregory Thomas said.

Some weeks, the group numbers more than 100 in the eatery, he added.

“It’s really a cool sight to see,” Thomas said. “They have a unique culture among themselves.”

When the restaurant underwent remodelling nine years ago, it took on a car theme, adding artwork of classics on the walls, Thomas said.

The group takes up about three-quarters of the restaurant each weekend, general manager John Smith estimated. As members fill the restaurant, their classic rides draw onlookers to the parking lot.

“Some people just cruise the lot to see the cars,” Smith said. “They love talking to (other patrons) about their cars.”

The group used to meet at a competing restaurant nearby. Manager and waitress Kim Goetz has known the group for more than 20 years.

“We accommodated them and they loved us,” she said.

The Breakfast Club begins to filter in around 5:30 a.m., Goetz said, and uses the restaurant as a starting point for the day’s car activities.

About the Author

Paul Kampe covered the Rochester area, Oakland County and Oakland University for The Oakland Press. He has also worked as online coordinator, a page designer/copy editor and preps sports writer. Reach the author at paul.kampe@oakpress.com
or follow Paul on Twitter: @PaulKampe.